Vietnam signs oil, gas hunt deal with Myanmar

MYANMAR: A Vietnamese company has signed a deal to explore for offshore oil and gas in Myanmar, a state news report said on Saturday.

The Petrovietnam Exploration Production Corporation Ltd., Joint Venture Vietsovpetro and a private Myanmar company, Eden Group Company Ltd, signed a contract Friday for exploration, drilling and production of oil and gas in the Gulf of Martaban, the Myanma Ahlin daily reported.

Financial details of the contract were not made public. It was the first between Vietnam and Myanmar, which already has similar deals with companies from France, the United States, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, India, Australia, Canada and Indonesia.

Despite condemnation of the ruling military regime by Western nations, foreign companies are competing to enter Myanmar's potentially lucrative energy sector.